Metal post



'No Model.)

0. B. HALL.

METAL POST.

uly 29, 1890i Patented ll/lllilll UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

OSBORN B. HALL, OF HALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

METAL POST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 433,001, dated July 29,1890. Application filed May l5, 1890. Serial No. 351,955.. (No model.)

.'0 @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, OSBORN B. IIALL, of Malden, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulimprovement in Metal Posts, which Will, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, be hereinafter fully described, and specificallydeiined in the appended claims.

In said drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of an erected postembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the postshown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detached sectional elevation,showing one of the couplings with coacting parts, as in Fig. 2. Fig. 4is a sectional plan view showing the post in section and the couplingand collarin plan. Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional plan view, thesection being taken as on line IV and the view being from above. Fig. 6is a view like Fig. 5, the section heilig taken as en line X.

This invention relates to that class or kind of posts that are usuallyemployed for the support of the system of wires employed with electricrailroads; and its object is to provide an inexpensive means of securingtogether the adjacent sections of metal tubing whereof such posts areformed, and by the same means toinsulate said sections one from theother, the invention consisting in the devices and combinations thereofhereinafter described and claimed.

Referring again to said drawings, A represents the post as an entirety,which, as is usual, is formed with a lower and larger section a, to beinserted in the earth, as shown, a second diminished section l) beingarranged next above a, while a still further diminished section c isarranged next above I). For the purpose of coupling section l) tosections a c at its respective ends, and at the same time by the samemeans to insulate the sections, so that an electric current will notpass from one to the other, I employ the coupling shown at l, formed efwood of a hard, strong, and tenacious kind and quality-such as oak,hickory, or other woods having ahighbreakingstrength-orequivalentnon-electric, conducting material. Thesecouplings are prepared by thorough seasoning and drying, and are turnedor molded to the requisite respective diameters in their parts ormembers ij, the enlarged band or collar k being at the same timeintegrally formed to serve as an abutting shoulder to receive therespective end faces of the tubular metal sections.

The couplings B and the tubular sections of the postare forced togetherby being subjected to requisite en'dwise pressure in a hydraulic orother adequate press, and when thus connected will resist without injuryany usual strain to which such posts are necessarily subjected.

At the base of the post is shown a basecollar d, which is for ornamentrather than use, and which rests upon the sidewalk or earth, as shown;but ateand f are shown eolla-rs that fit as closely as is practical uponthe smaller section of pipe and extend cutside of and below band k, inorder to protect the same from rain or other moisture that would tend todestroy the non-electric-conducting quality of the coupling, a cap gbeing arranged upon the top of the post to prevent rain or snow fromthere entering and passinginto the absorbent coupling. Instead offorming coupling 3 of wood or equivalent non-conducting material only,as shown in Fig. 3, a central longitudinal metallic re-enforce may beinserted therein under requisite pressure, said re-enforce being a metaltube, as shown at l in Fig. 5, as also at the connection of a l) in Fig.2; or it may be a solid bar of metal, as shown at m in Fig. 6, and alsoat the connection of h c in Fig. 2, said metallic re-enforce beingemployed where the post is to be subjected to a high degree of strain orforce.

As hereinbefore stated, other materialsuch as wood pulp, rubber,hardened paper, cbc-*may be employed in lieu of wood, if dulynon-conducting; but I prefer wood, on account of its strength,cheapness, and other qualities.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. A post of theclass described formed with a series of sections of tubing secured intallie re-enforce inserted in said coupling, substantially as specified.

OSBORN B. HALL.

lVitnesses:

T. W. PORTER, H. K. PORTER.

